Shattered
by Raven Roth 28
Summary: After a failed attempt at raiding, Alexandra Smith finds herself in a world where strength, movement, and timing can either save your life or end it abruptly...
1. Recruit

_**Chapter 1: Recruit**_

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><p>This city isn't how it used to be.<p>

Before, there was freedom. Now, there's control. We used to roam the streets and do what we want, but still have some sort of standards. It was a dangerous city, but also a wonderful one.

Before, there was color. Now, there's white. Even the plants have lost their color. Everywhere you turn there's just blue and white and just strips of colors. It's as if the rainbow over this city was bleached. The city was like an untouched coloring book now – not one crayon touched the pages, leaving it emotionless, lifeless, and dull.

Before, there was life. There's still life no matter where we go, because life goes on and on. But the lives of the people within this city are sickening. It's like everyone is a robot. Every move is watched, data can't be transported, there's barely ever any crime... The news isn't even news anymore. It's just every day nonsense about anything that at least one person will pay attention to.

Crime rates have dropped drastically, our moves are under watchful surveillance, and almost everything is kept behind closed doors.

These people chose a comfortable life under the eyes of the government. Some chose otherwise, rebelling against the rules and the boundaries, taking matters into their own hands.

I am one of those people.

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><p>My lungs were burning, my throat dry and my breaths coming out in short huffs. I could taste iron when I swallowed what little saliva I had in my mouth. My body was close to giving up. I had lost them, but even so, I felt as though I couldn't go on. I hadn't eaten in a real meal in days, only stealing what snacks I could pick up from convenience stores. It was getting harder these days, what with the cameras monitoring every move you made. Some even had a setting where it would snap photos of people's faces if they seemed to be stealing. Luckily I had big sunglasses and a black jacket at times to help disguise my identity.<p>

I ducked into an alleyway, hiding behind it for just a little while longer to catch my breath. _In through your nose…and out through your mouth…In through your nose…and out through your mouth. _After a while, I came out, picking up speed once more. I wasn't sure where I was going to end up staying for the night. I've just been here and there, resting in alleyways on my sleeping bag. But I needed food, money, shelter, things that humans needed in order to survive. I had none, and without it, I was going to die out here on the streets. I lived like a street rat, so I'd die like one too.

Within minutes I found a building. Curiosity got the better of me, so I started climbing up the long steel ladder. Once I reached the top, I pulled myself up and looked at my surroundings. It was just an AC cooler tower. What caught my eye was the small light inside. I walked over and opened the top hatch, jumping down inside. It was sort of strange to have furniture, a computer, and a bunch of other things inside of an AC cooler tower. It looked like a small apartment.

A smile slowly crept onto my face. Furniture meant people. People needed food. And where there was food, there was a fridge. And low and behold, a fridge was tucked in the side of the tower. "Jackpot!" I whispered, quietly going over to the refrigerator. I opened it slowly, the light from inside hitting my face. I quickly took whatever seemed good and stuffed it into my backpack, making sure to be quiet and not alarm anyone, not that there was someone in here. The place was deserted. I still didn't want to attract attention though. _Maybe there's some money lying around here too. I could stash that quickly after I'm done h-_

The sound of a faint grunt broke my train of thought. I whipped my head around to see two figures behind me. On instinct, I took a jar from my bag and hurled it at them. When I heard the breaking of glass, I cursed myself. _Dammit! I just wasted food!_ I instantly started throwing punches at the more muscular one, landing maybe one or two, before someone from behind pulled my arms back and covered my mouth. "Don't scream," the voice soothed. A female voice at that. She sounded calm yet guarded, which, sadly, reminded me of home.

I tore away from her and backed away from them, clutching my bag to my chest. Not a word came from my mouth, only the sounds of our own breathing filling our ears, along with the hums of the computer and refrigerator. Finally, one of them spoke.

"Who are you?" the woman asked.

"I should be asking you that," I muttered under my breath. This was _their _AC cooling tower; just freaking great. I was so close to escaping with all this food and maybe a little cash until they decided to ruin it all.

The man took a step forward, holding out his hand. My arms instantly tightened around the backpack. There was no way he was getting any of my stash. "Just give me the bag," he said. His voice was deep but soothing. But even so, I wouldn't give in.

My leg went up and out, kicking his arm away. He grunted and clutched his arm, turning away from us. I'd really hurt him that time. The woman immediately went at me, her fists connecting with my body and knocking me back. I fought back with what strength I had left though, ducking and dodging any way I could, side stepping and jumping when necessary. One of her punches landed my right in the side of my head and I felt my body go down to the floor, landing hard. The bag fell from my grasp and next to me. When I tried to scramble up and retrieve it, the woman snatched it away, opening the main compartment and taking out whatever was inside.

My breathing was starting to get shallow with each passing second. The running had taken so much out of me, and this certainly hadn't made it any better. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears, the thudding growing louder and louder. My eyes fluttered ever so slowly, and my vision started to fade. I curled my fingers into a fist, telling myself to be strong and get up, but my body finally gave up, my vision turning black, my mind slowly drifting into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p><em>Sun…on my face…it feels so warm, so relaxing...<em>

_Wait a minute…_

I gasped, my body jerking forward as I awoke. Pain instantly rushed to my arms, legs, and head. _What the hell happened to me? _I couldn't understand why I felt like pure shit.

My surroundings were very foreign. I didn't remember falling asleep on a comfy couch or wrapping a blanket around myself. _Where in the hell am I? _I wondered.

"Ahem."

I looked over to where the sound had come from. A guy was sitting in a swivel chair, the kinds I used to spin in back at home and push the lever up so I'd be going down an imaginary toilet. He had the faintest hint of a smile on his face as he looked at me. I couldn't do anything but stare back, my fingers curling into a loose fist. If he had any ideas, I'd be ready. But then it just hit me – he was the guy from last night, the one who had ambushed me in my attempt to steal his food and raid his place.

"What's your name, kid?" he asked, his voice as calm and soothing as last night.

Nothing came out of my mouth. I wouldn't speak to this guy, not after what he'd done. I was so close to being home free and he just ruined everything. He had "pissed on my fire" so to speak.

"You hungry?" he asked, changing the subject.

Again, nothing came from my mouth. A small sound filled the room though, making my arms wrap around my stomach. I would have said no, but my stomach was obviously saying yes.

The man chuckled and opened a box that was on his table. He offered me a slice of pepperoni pizza. Without even thinking, I took it and ate it. I hadn't even thought about it first, like maybe if he'd poisoned it or drugged it or if it was from a dumpster outside. It tasted like regular pizza though.

Once I finished that slice, he took the box and opened it, showing me the rest of the pie. My mouth watered, the sight of the food tearing me apart from inside. This guy was my enemy, a very generous enemy at that. I needed to take a moment and think this through, but with food in my sight, I could care less whether or not this was all a trap. If I were to die right now, I would be glad it was on a full stomach. I reached out and gladly took another piece, finishing that one off and eating yet another piece. After that I decided to stop, sitting back and letting my food digest. It felt like I hadn't had pizza in years, or food for that matter. I would cherish this moment while I could, even if there was the possibility I could end up choking or anything in a matter of seconds.

"Thirsty?" the man asked.

Once more, no answer. Just because he had given me food didn't mean I'd start talking. But just that one word made my mouth go dry, and I tasted a small hint of blood in my mouth. My through was scratched up and bleeding still.

Without a word, the man got up and went over to the fridge, taking out a bottle of water from the side. He tossed it over to me on his way back and I caught it, twisting the cap open and letting the cool water run down my parched throat. It felt amazingly good, almost as good as the food entering my stomach.

He sat back down in his chair, arms crossed over his chest. I faced him and stared straight ahead, the only thing on my mind being to spring into action if he tried anything funny. After a long moment of silence, he spoke. "Ready to explain yourself?" His voice had turned serious compared to how soothing it sounded last night.

I swallowed hard. Just because he'd given me food, water, and a place to rest for the night, I wouldn't be giving him any details. For all I knew, he could've been an undercover cop or issued an amber alert on me.

The guy kept his eyes on me, his mouth pressed into a straight line. "Well?" he asked.

"What makes you think I'll answer to you?" I questioned. "You don't know shit about me."

"That's the thing," he said. "I'd like to know about you."

I scoffed at that. "Like you really give a damn." No one ever had before. With the exception of my family, no one had cared about me. I was just a miniscule piece of a big picture, nothing more.

"Why did you sneak in here?"

"What're you? Stupid?" It couldn't be more obvious. I needed food, water, shelter, the basic necessities of life. I didn't have that anymore, and if I'd gone without it for hours longer, I would've died.

The man looked on at me, not speaking. I'd shut him up for a few minutes. His brown eyes searched me. Normally I would've lashed out and demanded why he was examining me like a lab rat, until he got up and brought me something – workout clothes.

"Get dressed," he said.

"Why the hell should I?"

"You want to live, don't you?"

I was rendered speechless at that. I wanted to live more than anything. I was young and hadn't lived my life yet at all. I ran from home and had nothing left but my pride and my dignity.

The man jumped up and lifted himself out of his cool hideout. After minutes of consideration, arguing, and crying, I stripped and put on the sweatpants and t-shirt. I jumped and pulled myself out, still a little weak. He was leaning against the tower, looking on into the distance. "Have you ever heard of Runners?" he asked.

"No," I answered.

He nodded lightly and walked, beckoning me to follow him. So I did.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

_Not much of a talker now,_ I thought. First he'd wanted to know about me, and now he wanted to be vague; bipolar much?

After much climbing down ladders and walking and hiding behind allies, day quickly turned to night. Miles and miles we went and we never spoke a word unless I needed to take a break and sit. By the time the stars came out, we climbed one final ladder. I looked around; it was nothing but a bunch of ramps, fences, poles, the kinds of things you would find on an unfinished construction site. "Why are we here?" I asked.

He didn't speak, only kept walking a little further. He jumped up and pulled himself onto a structure made from a series of poles and metal panels. I still wanted answers, so I joined him. After a couple more moments of silence, he spoke.

"You said you didn't know what a Runner was, right?"

I nodded.

"Still want to know?"

I nodded again.

"Runners are a certain group of people," he explained. "We're couriers, people that transfer messages, documents, or any other data from place to place or person to person."

"…So you guys are like FedEx?"

He chuckled at that. "Eh…sort of. We're more like…smugglers, I guess you could say. We take confidential stuff – information from the government, blueprints, etcetera."

I smiled softly. "I like you guys already." I hated the government. Nothing but a bunch of big shots corrupting what was once a majestic city of excitement and thrill.

He smiled faintly, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. "We deliver things in special ways though. We use parkour— the physical disciple of getting from point A to point B by stringing movements together; and free running – acrobatic movements mixed with street stunts and tricks . We use our bodies to get to where we want." It sounded sort of dirty, but I could understand what he meant. I'd seen people like that on TV. They twisted and did flips and kicks. It's known as the art of movement, and lived up to its title. The way those people moved looked beautiful, if I could say that.

"So basically you use the art of movement to smuggle data and get paid for it?"

He nodded.

"…Why are you giving me the chance?" Of all people out there, why was he choosing me to do this?

"Well," he sighed, "you're a young kid with no place to go. But after the way you nearly knocked me out last night and from what I'm seeing right now, you'd be pretty damn good."

I felt myself smile and shook my head incredulously. This was crazy; it was a great opportunity, but I wasn't so sure about it. For one, I'm not the most athletic person. I've got good stamina but I never put it to the test. I could deal out some pretty hard blows but that was only when I was in trouble. I already had experience in stealing, but it was for survival purposes, nothing more. But I did need to stay alive in this town and he seemed to trust me. I hated the government and was a big rebel. I hated the changes in this town and all information was kept behind closed doors. And I'd give anything to have a home again.

So, I agreed.

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><p><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I do not own Mirror's Edge.


	2. Late Birthday Present

For the next couple of months I experienced multiple ass-whoopings. There were bruises everywhere from combat lessons, as well as scars from sliding and falling. It was amazing that I didn't quit by now. This job was dangerous; jumping from rooftop to rooftop could lead to death, I knew. I just didn't think they'd be doing it from over a hundred feet in the air. Every time I looked down I could see a tiny little black dot with blood surrounding it. Life would go on as normal, although one poor soul would be out of society, one less person for the government to control. But even after all the falling and bruises and near-death experiences, I had grown to love training. Every day I looked forward to learning new things and performing new tricks. I caught on rather quickly; I didn't have experience with parkour but I'd seen a lot of it and was already proficient in melee combat. It was actually kind of fun…

It was March now, spring. I'd been training for about eight months. By now I was familiar with them. Faith was of Eurasian ethnicity. She had short black hair, creamy skin, and a tattoo around her right eye. It was pretty cool, but I wouldn't get it. She didn't speak too much which was alright with me I guess. I wasn't so much of a big talker myself so it didn't bother me. She was twenty-four, which intimidated me a little. I wasn't a minor but she was legal, over twenty-one. The only person I ever really spoke with much was my twin sister and I never saw her anymore.

Mercury, or Merc, was an ex-runner. He still went out on jobs but was mostly just a Tracker. Trackers were like bosses. They assigned jobs and made sure everything was in line, that deliveries went smoothly. On days I was able to rest, he'd let me watch him do his thing on the computer, keeping watch of Faith and other Runners. It was really complex and hard to understand. It was amazing how he'd gotten into this. I'd never asked him though because he seemed to keep things to himself. After our encounter months ago, I'd learned to not ask about his personal life and to take risks with him. I'd also learned that he loved pizza and to never throw it away; he liked the toppings matured. He could be pretty sarcastic and had a sort of dry sense of humor. It was alright with me and I could take it. It was better than not talking at all.

After much training, bruises, and clothes shopping, I was assigned my first mission.

He handed me a yellow bag with numerous pockets. It was kind of weird looking, but I didn't question it. There was really no need to and I didn't really care. I was just excited to finally get to work.

"Go down to Centurian Plaza and deliver this bag. Leave it under the stairs that lead out to the plaza. Easy enough for you?"

I nodded and was soon on my way. Centurian Plaza was one of my favorite places. They had a bunch of stores and hang out spots I used to go to after school. I'd see the popular kids near the nightclubs, the jocks near Sports Authority and the Gym, and the outcasts near F.y.e. Me, being the little nerd I am, hung out by the Books-A-Million on the other side. Sometimes I'd go to the nightclubs on the weekends and sometimes I'd hang by the gym and work out for a couple hours. But I usually sat down in one of the lounge chairs with a frappacino or something and enjoyed reading James Patterson or Dan Brown.

Within due time I was there. I jumped the fence and hid the yellow bag under the stairs. The vibrations from the trains up above were strong enough to shake me a little. My skin grew cold as the horn sounded. It was extremely loud and scared the ever-loving crap out of me sometimes.

"Ahem."

My head whipped around to find a guy in a black tank top and blue sweatpants with a white stripe. He looked pretty muscular; his arms were crossed and he was giving me a dirty look, the kinds I used to get from home whenever I cussed or threatened my sister. He had messy brown hair and dark brown eyes. A black tattoo with series of blocks and shapes on it was around his left arm. On instinct, I lashed out at him, kicking and punching. He blocked every single on and was able to push me off. I fell to the ground but jackknifed back up, going at him again. This time, he swung at me with his fist and was able to make me stagger back clutching my stomach. He laughed lightly at me and I glared at him. "Who the hell are you?" I finally asked.

"Who wants to know?" he countered back.

I growled, which only made him laugh more. "Stop laughing at me!"

He was hysterical now. After a minute, he shook his head at me. "I'll never understand it."

This made me blink in confusion. "Understand what?"

The guy was silent now. He was just like Merc, talkative at first and then just a complete mystery later on. I growled. "Answer me, dammit!"

He stared at me for a minute longer before jumping the fence opposite me and running off, disappearing. After much consideration, I went straight back to Merc's lair. He turned and greeted me with a small smile. "Find everything okay?"

I nodded and slumped onto the red couch. "Yeah…except for one little thing…"

His face turned serious. "What was it? You didn't meet up with a Blue, did you?"

I shook my head. If something that serious had happened, I would've been back by nightfall. "No. There was this guy in a black tank top and sweatpants. He had brown hair, brown eyes, lightly tanned skin…"

He instantly sighed. "Goddammit…"

"What?"

"That was Jason Summit. He's in my division. The bastard's been running off again."

I blinked. "Again?"

"Yeah. After he finishes a delivery, he sometimes goes off and lurks around the city. He's skilled and he's been here for quite a while, but he'll just wander off and try to cause trouble."

That was weird. If he was on the same side as us, why would he want to cause trouble? Was he trying to make the Runners get caught? "If he's in the same division as us, how come I've never seen him before?"

"He stays in New Eden most of the time."

I liked New Eden. The mall was always a great spot, mainly because I'd always pickpocket people there and steal whatever I could find. Security wasn't as tight and people were almost oblivious to everything. I used to love the neighborhood until everyone I knew in there began to act like robots. I became paranoid after that and kept thinking my old friends from there were just waiting for me to slip up so they could turn me into the police. Aside from being a nerd, I rebelled against anything that wasn't to my liking. They were the same until the City decided to reform. They haven't been the same since then.

"Don't worry about him," he said. "Drake'll take care of him." His computer beeped. "For now, you should get some rest. It's been a long day."

It really hadn't been. From the time I woke up to the time I was assigned a mission, I'd been outside practicing by myself. Now it was six o'clock and the sun was beginning to set. For the next couple of months, that became my daily routine, along with the occasional pizza fiascos and late night noises of Faith's clacking on the keyboard and Merc's never-ending curse-fest. But even so, the AC Cooler was beginning to feel more and more like home with each passing day.

August rolled around in no time. It felt nothing like autumn though. The trees were bleached white, so no hues of brown, yellow, or red appeared around town. I'd just turned 19 not too long ago. We celebrated by feasting on marble ice cream cake from Coldstones and a meat lover's pizza from Dominoes. But aside from the festivities, it was the first birthday I'd spent without my parents.

For most of the day I thought about my dad and sister. I figured they wouldn't miss me too much – I had left unexpectedly, but it wasn't too much of a surprise by them. It'd been a month since I'd left home before I was found by Merc and Faith. No Amber Alerts or Missing Child posters were plastered around the city. I guessed that they didn't care much at all. So after a couple hours of thinking about it, I asked, "Why should I?" Besides, the only one I really missed was Mom.

It was the last week of the eighth month. The orange sky illuminated all that was around me. It looked warm and cozy, enough to make me fall into a deep sleep. Automatically, I started to dream. Blue and white mixed into one as I soared over rooftops and buildings. I'd yet to do things like that, but a girl could dream, couldn't she?

Adrenaline coursed through my unconscious body. Strangely, I tripped in my dream, causing my foot to jolt. I instantly woke up from my slumber. Everything was still orange from the sunlight. The door to the cooler opened as Merc stepped inside with a backpack. "Oh good, you're awake," he said. "Come on. We got to go."

"Go where?" I asked.

"Does it matter?"

I wanted to say yes, but then decided against it. I wasn't in the mood to fight; after taking a nap, I was disoriented and weak, not like my normal nature. So I followed him downtown to an abandoned warehouse. It was filled with people dressed in athletic ware, and I instantly knew they were Runners. "Why are we here?" I didn't quite fit in yet; I wasn't officially a Runner yet according to him and Faith. So what was the point of me being here?

"You sure ask a lot of questions," he stated.

I rolled my eyes as he ushered me to a room in the back with a chair and some type of equipment. "Okay, now I'm scared."

Merc laughed. "Don't be. Just sit down on the chair and relax." Unable to argue, I did as I was told. Once again, I fell asleep. This time, I didn't wake up until what seemed like a day later. I was still in the warehouse when I awoke. The only thing really different was the newfound pain around my stomach. As I looked to my side, I saw Merc in a chair against the wall. Before I could ask what was going on, I noticed my shirt was lifted up halfway, a series of blocks printed on my abdomen. It had no pattern to it, but it still freaked me out. I shot up and looked from Merc to the tattoo about five times. "What the hell's going on!?" I demanded.

He smiled softly at me. "Your initiation," he said simply.

"…My initia…what?!" What kind of initiation required a tattoo around my midsection?

He laughed softly and helped me off of the chair. "In case you haven't noticed, every Runner had a tattoo somewhere on their body." He lifted up the sleeve of his shirt and showed me his. I'd seen glimpses of it before but never bothered to ask over the past eleven months. "They're tags. It's a way to keep track of a Runner. It's like a system." He pulled his sleeve down. "It's also the official sign of a Runner."

My eyes widened at that. I hadn't eaten in a while, but I was pretty sure that wasn't the reason why my head began to spin. That one word rang in my ears. _Official…_ It could only mean one thing. "S-So you're saying that…"

He nodded and smiled. "Welcome to the team, Alex."

I don't know what happened next, but I was soon on the floor with Merc, my arms wrapped around him. We didn't do anything, but he was laughing at me. I blushed and got off of him. "Sorry…"

"It's alright," he laughed. "Haven't had a hug quite like that in a while."

I smiled softly at that. I wasn't much of a huggy person, but I wasn't a cold-hearted bitch either. I was just so happy…it was the first time I felt like I belonged to something important, to something that could help the world. As cheesy as it sounded, it was very true. I didn't feel like Alex anymore.

I felt like a Runner.


End file.
